The bipartisan Hospice Opportunities for Supporting Patients with Integrity and Care Evaluations (HOSPICE) Act, introduced by Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), passed in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Provisions under Reed’s bill would strengthen access to quality hospice care and give hospice providers the tools they need to do their jobs more effectively. The HOSPICE Act was included in the House-passed Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act.
“For any family who has had a personal experience with the care that hospice provides as my family has, they know that it is truly irreplaceable,” Reed said. “We depend on hospice providers for more than helping our loved ones; we also depend on them to bring peace of mind and comfort to our families. Strengthening hospice care is something people from across the political aisle can come together to support and improve hospice care delivery in America.”
The bill brings additional transparency and accountability measures to certified hospice facilities with a three-year recertification cycle as opposed to the current six- to eight-year timeframe. It also allows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to conduct a review of hospice programs that reach a threshold of patients in hospice care for more than 180 days.